ArmagedDON: the day the doping bans fell on Essendon

Brendon Goddard

The week of Monday, January the 11th, started out like any other week during the pre-season: main skills, into lunch and a weights session in the afternoon.

Considering what loomed the very next day, the team trained extremely well and carried on with business as usual throughout the day. Finishing up on Monday, the club informed us of the plans for tomorrow – Doomsday.

Into the light: Brendon Goddard and John Worsfold have a mighty task ahead Photo: Pat Scala

TUESDAY: On any other morning, I get my coffee, play tunes and sing along to get myself up for training. Not today. I'm consumed by the thought of the Court of Arbitration for Sport's decision on and what it will mean for our club, my teammates.

I'm thinking of all the unanswered questions – the ifs, ands, buts, the maybes. Naturally, my mind keeps coming back to the worst-case scenario – a guilty verdict, which would mean WADA had been successful in its attempt to overturn the AFL anti-doping tribunal's decision that effectively cleared Essendon players of taking a prohibited substance.

Even then, I can barely imagine a verdict and penalty with the consequences that eventuated.

7:10 am: I arrive at the club. Players – minus the 12 guys who still play for the Bombers – coaches and football department staff are all in attendance. As we eat a sombre atmosphere lingers. Few, if any, words are spoken. 7:30 is quickly upon us, the time CAS had informed the guys the decision would be announced. 7:40, then 7:45 ticks by and we have heard nothing. I'm sitting in Mark Harvey's office chair. A few guys come in and are out trying to find out whether anyone has heard anything – but still nothing.

Advertisement

At 8:02, I receive a text from one of the 12 … "GUILTY. No football for 2016." My heart sinks in disbelief. I repeat the dark words of the text to a few others in my vicinity. Another minute goes by and our worst fears are confirmed. No one had really quite prepared for this. Xavier Campbell addresses the group. I can't handle it. I need to get out and filter what has just happened. I go to my car. I think about what all this means for me, my family, my mates, my football club.

It's some time before I make my way back in to the club. As difficult as it was, we headed back to training that Thursday. As most of us know, football does not stand still for anyone, or anything. It was an empty, lifeless finish to a difficult and complex week. But it's now about the bigger picture; the future, the controllables. It's now about this group creating its own history.

As I enter season 2016 – my 14th year – I enter it with great optimism and belief. Optimistic about what we can achieve this year and belief that the club and the group have a real hunger to improve and get better.

For most teams, it's about continual improvement, and this is even more paramount with a young and inexperienced list. The great man, Robert Harvey, once said to me: "The moment you stop trying to improve is the moment you should walk away."

What will define success for Essendon in 2016? A premiership? Top four? Top eight? It's really up to the individuals and the team to define that. For us, 2016 is about development, continual improvement and focusing on the process. When you remove the weight of expectation of wins and losses, it's amazing what you can achieve. Yes, we all want to win at the end of the day, that is in our blood. But from what I have experienced, successful teams are about more than just focusing on wins and losses. Successful teams value and drive the process above all else.

The man that has helped instil these values and beliefs into the group is John Worsfold. John made the decision to come to Essendon when the club was in a very unique and difficult situation with the ongoing investigation and the loss of a club great. A lot of pressure and scrutiny had engulfed the club. The way in which he has embraced the club, led and inspired us every day is a credit to who he is as an individual and as a coach. John is very calm and calculated. He is VERY clear and leaves no one with any confusion or grey areas.

Those of us that witnessed John as a player and captain saw a fierce, ruthless competitor. This attitude was no more evident on the Thursday, two days after the CAS findings. Upon our arrival at the club, our first commitment was a team meeting. Under such difficult and extraordinary circumstances, his delivery of the message was calm, respectful, ruthless and crystal clear. "As hard as the current situation is, you the players and coaches, are solely responsible for how we respond. The reality is, Essendon will field a team in round 1. With respect to the 12 boys, we must pick ourselves up and continue our legacy for 2016 and beyond."

I'm not sure if there are too many men out there with the courage and belief to accept such a job. John is the right man to steer the club back to greatness.

In 2016, I think we will all discover things about ourselves that we never knew existed, never thought possible. We will all ride "the football roller coaster", the ups and the downs and the sideways and unders. When we finally hit flat ground, the experiences we have faced will have defined us as men, as players and as a football club. And we will be better for it.